davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
Cultivation of Crops.

After seed has come up, the frequent
stirring of the soil will prove beneficial.
1t is not generally necessary to caution
any one against stirring the soil too fire.
quently, still this may, not impossibly, be
sometimes overdone, at least as regarded
from financial point of view. Follow.
ing rain, and after the land is dried
sufficiently to be in good working condi-
ton, is the best possible time for giving
the soil thorough stirring; for then it
will be left in fresh, lively condition,
that will give the growing crop sur
prising start.
It may be we'll to note here that it is
not profitable to stir the soil when it is
too wet, or to hoe crops when they are
dripping with water, as some people do;
even cabbages, celery and turnips are not
benefited, if indeed they escape serious
injury, under such treatment.
In cultivating crops of any description,
it is necessary to bear in mind that, when
they are young and growing rapidly: it
will be proper to cultivate deeper and
nearer to the plants than at a later stage,
when growth is not so rapid. Atthe later
stage, such active cultivation would have
tendency to ripen off the crop, rather
than promote its growth.
During dry season, or period OF eS-
tended drought, the more frequently the
soil is stirred around growing crop the
better, as the loosening up of the surface
soil will draw the moisture from below
upward. within reach of the feeding roots
of the plants. and thus enable them to
absorb it.
In the case of any crop planted in rows,
it is q good plan to stir the soil and cut
down the weeds, Immediately after the
plants come up, in the following manner:
Take an ordinary harrow and remove the
front tooth; then drive along each row of
plants, keeping it exactly between the
horses and central to the harrow. This
narrowing will not disturb them in the
least, and just at this stage will promote
their growth surprisingly. The weeds, of
course, will not be exterminated entirely;
but their first early growth will be effect
ually destroyed, and they will more easily
be kept under during the rest of the sea-
son.
Parasitic insects and vegetable parasites
Ito which latter class belong smut, blight,
mildew, etc. cause. heavy losses and dis.
appointments to all cultivators of the land
both on farms and in gardens. The moro
thrifty the habit and condition of the
plants, the less will they be liable to such
ravages. Thorough and constant cult
vation disturbs and destroys the larve, re-
inforces the plant, and enable it to with
stand parasitic attacks, both animal and
vegetable to good advantage.-W "
Raps0n.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
The Best Seeds for Propagation.

Nursery men are we'll aware that seeds
of the best and choicest apples are not
best for planting. All that is wanted is
strong, vigorous stock, and this is best
secured by planting seeds of the small,
inferior varieties, too poor for anything
except making cider. These are gener-
ally used not alone because they arc
easiest to get, but because they are the
best. If we wis he'd fruit from these
seedlings only seeds from the best favored
varieties would be planted; but as the
propagator invariably CRAFTS these, then
the kind of fruit the Seeding might bear
is immaterial The chief drawback to
this method of getting trees is that it
gives little opportunity for valuable
chance seedlings which used sometimes
to be obtained. Perhaps, however, it is
as we'll that improved varieties of fruits
should be bred, for by selecting seeds
from the choicest kinds, and by cross
fertilization, much of improved stock is
bred. This will make two kinds of seeds,
each best for its respective purpose, one
including the great bulk of seeds from
inferior fruit for producing stocks, and
the other the carefully selected few seeds
for the amateur and specialist seeking
new varieties.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
To Grow Strawberries.

The main points involved in the sue
ccssful culture of this fruit, as recognized
by our best cultivators, are as follows:
I. Prepare the ground by deep plowing
and subsoiling applya dressing of rotted
manure equal to twenty cords per acre ;
spread it over the ground and mix with
the surface soil by repeated and thorough
disintegration with harrow. The best
crops are produced on strong, loamy soils
if somewhat clayey it will be all the bet
ter, provided it is drained.
9. Give the plants plenty of space.
The rows should not be less than thirty
inches apart, and the plants about half
that distance between each other in the
rows.
3. Remove all runners as they appear,
and keep the surface we'll pulverized and
clean during swimmer after the crop has
been gathered in old plantations-the
same cleanly treatment applying to newly
set out plants. Ifyoung plants are wanted,
keep portion of the plantation for the
purpose. -,
4. Cover the plants in winter, after the
freezing weather sets in, with straw,
leaves, or other similar material, as
partial protection from injury by frcsts.
5. Do not disturb the roots by any
process of cultivation from the month Of
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
Little Things.


No man is fit for Gods service who is
not willing to do little things. The
people who are always waiting for an
opportunity to do some great thing
never accomplish anything. If you
want to be wise in winning souls you
must he ready to do ju,t what the Spirit
prompts you to do. 1t may be he will
call you to go to the homo of the drunk
ard, and stay there and mind the chill
dren while he or his wife goes out to
listen to the Word of God. If this were
done by Christians generally streams
of salvation would break out in every
quarter. If you are going to work for
God you must let him take care of your
reputation. Ifyou look for your reward
there you will be doomed to disappoint'
ment. The reward will come hereafter.
This is the time of Christ's humiliation,
and we are to 60 ''outside the camp
bearing his reproach." The nearer you
| We to Christ the meaner will be the
things that worldly people will say about
you. If you want the applause Of the
world you had etter give up Christian
work, because you cannot be useful in
Gods vineyard without the world begin
ming to SANDER and abuse you.- ID. L.
Moody.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
Feeding Bees.

Large quantities of brood are reared
this month, and after the red buds of the
soft maple have put forth their heads
there will be plenty of natural pollen for
the bees to gather. If there are no ma
pies or willows in your immediate vi
ccinity, take some unbolted rye flour, mix
it with saw dust or cut straw, and set in
a sunny corner, sheltered from the wind,
when, if the bees require 1t, they will
carry it freely. In localities where there
is honey in the blossoms at this season,
the bees will gather it very rapidly, and
the more honey they get the faster the
stock increases. Where there are not
enough honey producing flowers, by sll
means feed, at the entrance, say about a
gill of hot feed every night: BY feed
inc thus, your stocks will increase very
rapidly, and when the honey commences
to flow, you will have strong stocks to
gather it. Again, should there be honey
in the blossoms, and cold and rainy
weather set in, feed as above, for should
the weather continue cold, the bees
would naturally commence to destroy the
work already accomplished, by tearing
out and destroying the Matching brood.
If you keep your bees for increase alone,
feed them every night, and continue to
do so until honey can be gathered in
abundance. ce.-Ameriean Agriculturist.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
The Canker Worm.

Ben: Berley Poore says in the Cu1ti-
Gator: The canker worm, which does 50
much harm, is what is called a measuring
worm; that is, instead of crawling as
ordinary caterpillars do, it straightens
itself, fastens its fore feet, humping or
hooking its back in so doing; it then
goes through the same process again, and
so seems to measure its way along. 1t is
about an inch in length, and is of
general ash gray color above, the sides
darker, while beneath it is of yellowish
cast. The specimens vary greatly, how
ever, in color and workings. Each one
is provided with silk gland in the under
lip, from which it spins fine thread of
silk, by means of which it suspends itself
when frightened or shaken from the
tree.
The male is light ard active and has
wings to fly, but the female is sluggish
and cannot fly, but crawls up the trunks
of trees, and deposits her eggs in pro.
tected places, and generally near expand
ing buds. There the eggs hatch in the
early Spring, as the leaves are young and
tender, and the young worms begin their
work of destruction. Mr.. Bessey
mentions several plans for destroying
these pests, but rather inclines to
the plan recommended by Lo
Baron County, ILL.,, to take a piece of
inch rope (old rope is as good as
new, long enough to go round the tree,
tack it a foot or two from the ground,
being careful to make it fit close to the
bark. Get strips of new tin, four inches
wide, and long enough to go around the
rope band when in place on the tree;
fasten by driving small nails through the
tin and rope band so, that the tin will ex-
tend equally above and below the rope.
The females will find it much more diff
cult to pass this barrier than one de.
scribed by Mr.. Bessey. Many will lay
their eggs on the under side of the rope
band; these may be destroyed by apply
inc kerosene.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
Selling Butter Promptly.

No farm product of equal value is
more unsatisfactory to hold for rise than
butter. Its price, when newly made, is
nearly always the best. 1t is subject to
greater deterioration in quality than any
other product, and, no matter how care
fully protected, must suffer some in COM
parison with that which is freshly made.
The old-fashioned dairy butter made in
June used to be good for twelvemonth
if packed in sweet crooks and covered
with salt brine to exclude any odors.
There is little such butter now. That
made by the creamery process is first
class while fresh, but lacks keeping quail
tiles. As nearly all enterprising dairy
men have creameries, there is less really
good butter made from milk set in the
old-fashioned way than formerly.-Chs-
caoo Herald.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
A Great Place for Railroad Trains.

There are thlrty-hye tracks IN the Penn-
sylvania Railroad yard in Jersey City,
which are just three more than there are
in the gridirons at Edgehilll, Liverpool,
on the London and Northwestern Rail-
way. Edgehill is the spot where George
Stephenson began his first railway sixty
years ago. One hundred and sixty-two
Iiphts were counted last night at the
jersey City yards, half of them just above
the level of the tracks. Many more
were swinging to and fro, as if in the
hards of lunatics. One hundred and
seventy-fvc trains daily pass in and out,
while the bobtail engines run back and
forth about once minute. The curved
steel rails gather in the rays and flash
them back. Altogether that depot at
night is striking picture.-NeO York
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
RELIGIOUS READING.
A Little While.

A Little While.
What is this that he saithl
1T is but little WHILE"
And trouble and pain and death
Shall vanished before his smile.
"a little WHILE" and the load
Shall drop at the pilgrims feet,
Where the steep and thorny road
Doth merge in the golden street.
But what Is this that be saithl
"a little while, )" and the day
or the servant that laboreth
Shall be done forever and aye.
Oh, ths truth that Is yet untold
Oh, the songs that are yet unsuing!
Oh, the sufferings manifold,
And the SORROWS that have no tongue!
Oh, the helpless hands held out,
And the wayward feet that stray
In the desolate paths Of doubt
And the sinners down ward way!
For silence soon will fall
On the lips that burn for speech,
And the needy and poor that call
VIII forever be out Of reach.
"For the work that ys must do
Before the coming death
There remaineth, o faithful few,
But q little while" he saith.
REV. Washington GLADDEN. In Sunda,
Afternoon.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
AGRICULTURAL.
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
The Potato Harvest,

The Potato Harvest.
A high, bare field brown from the plow, and
borne
Aslant from sunset; amber waste Of sky
Washing the ridge; clamor of crows that
fly
In from the wide flats where the spent tides
mourn,
Toyon their rocking roosts in pines wind-torn;
A line of gray snake-fence, that zigzags by
A pond, and cattle; from the homestead
nigh
The long deep summonings of the supper horn.
Black OH the ridge, against that lonely flush,
A cart, and stoop-necked oxen; ranged be,
side,
Some barrels; and the day-worn harvest
folk,
Here emptying their baskets, jar the hush
With hollow thunders; down the dusk hill
side.
Lumbers the vain, and day fades out
like smoke.
Prof. Robsiger
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
TEMPERANCE Notes.

Sam Small says that in five years the
South will be solid for Prohibition.
Stephen a. Douglas, the son OF the
"Lit,lc Giant" who used to be very in
temperate, has now become total alb
stainer and has made speeches in temper
ancc meetings.
A mammoth temperance meeting was
held at Elmira, N. Y, recently by ''Thc
Old Guard" an organization of more
than 100 former drunkards who reformed
under the Murphy crusade aud are now
PROSPEROUS citizens.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
TEMPERANCE.
Guard.xhe Home

0uoAu NA0 k1Ou1Cs
Every true heart on earth, wheresoe'er he may
roam,
Finds that 'life's dearest idol is home sweet,
sweet home;
But so many homes sweetness is schanged into
pain,
And the dear dream Of pleasure arises in
vain. -
Home, home, sad, sad home,
ne deadly destroyer has blighted the home
Not long shall we barter our hearts hopes
And give the destroyer DER all things full
Not long, for the hosts to the battle now
And this is the war cry: "For God and the
homer
Home home, sweet, sweet home,
We pledge now our manhood to fight for the
home.
Sweet home! yes, It's dearer than all else
beside,
And we will defend it whatever betide, -
And speed s.5.9 on the day when the cause is re-
That places in peril thehomes we have loved.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home,
The Lord God of heaven preserve US the
home.
Herbert Whitney. in the Voice.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
OpportunIties.

Bear in mind that we all have our op-
portunities, if we will look out for them,
opportunities of doing good, opportuni-
ties of teneiting our fellow creatures,
opportunities Of doing some work for
God; and for every one of these oppor-
tunities we mist give an account. II
neglected, great will be our loss; if
seized. what great things may be done; {;
how much may be accomplished; God
may be honored; souls n ay be saved
our own souls, or the souls of others.
Again, our time is very, very short,
and all depends upon the right employ
ment of it These striking words might
once have been seen, written in large
letters on the wall of an Italian house:
"a God, a moment, an eternity. A
God who secs thee. o moment W hich
flies from thee, an eternity which awaits
thee" And remember that our time is
cont acting, and becoming shorter every
day.
One of the cruel tortures said to have
been invented in some heather country
was that of q cell which al the prison
ers first entrance presented an appear
ance of comfort and ease. BY degrees,
however, he observed the dimensions OF
his chamber beginning to contract, and
the fact became more appalling every
day. Slowly, but terribly, the sides
drew closer, and the unhappy victim
was at last crushed to death.
What an emblem docs this suggest OF
the sinners contracting day of grace
Oh, what would the poor victim in such
cell have given to see the door open
Would he have fingered for a moment,
think you2 Would he not have seized
the opportunity, and escaped for his
life2
We have, many of US. done but little
in the way of "redeeming the time.
We have allowed it to pass by unim
proved. We have lived too long ii
Sodom. Oh, that we may arise as Lot
did, and be gone; and while we linger,
may the angels of God lay hold of oul
hands, and be merciful to us, and bring
US forth, and set US without the city; sc
that we may never look back any more,
but may escape to the mountain, and
dwell safely upon the Rock of Ages.
If young, redeem the time whilst it is
yours; and all the more so if old, fol-
but short moment or two remains fol
YOU. Old and young alike, we have
not an instant to lose. Let us redeem
the time, before the evil days come,
when our difficulties will perhaps in
crease an hundred-fold. Let US take
the tide at the flood, knowing that per-
haps no more tides will come, at least
for us; for there are but twelve hours in
the day, and our last hour may be very
near, Bishop Oxenden in "Touch'
stones"
A congregation creates the conditions
of failure, and then holds the preacher
responsible. To man or body of meu
with such temper, how can any good
come from sermons .-FDr. Deems.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
A Family's Occupations.
The maid sits in the parlor,

Working worsted rugs;
The brothers at the bench show,
Chattering Of puss.
The mother, In the kitchen
At her washing, tugs,
The old mans in the lower patch
Killing tAtur bugs;
EGoodqHs Sun
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11

September until after the crop has been
gathered.
6. Make new plantation every year,
and destroy the old plants after they have
produced second crop.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
Alcohol in Food.

Not long agoa man who had been .
"hard drinkers in his youth told me that
after FIVE years of total abstinence from
all intoxicating drinks the old thirst 1or
LIQUOR came over him as he smelled the
brandy in the pudding sauce at table
where he was an invited guest. "Call it
weakness if you will," he said, "but 1
dared not taste that sauce. II knew that
the taste of the brandy would steal my
senses away, that the maddening thirst
for drink would again overpower my
will, and the work of years be undone
in an instant. My only hope was in total
abstinence, and l knew it. AS it was l
had hard fight to get by saloon that
night on my way home, and once home
asked my sister to lock me in my room
until could feel sure ofmyself again.
Ohio Farmer.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11

There are l, 1872 Brussels looms In the
United States, making fifty yards per day
on an average; total productive capacity,
1s, 900, 900 yards; value of product,
SIS, 900. 900.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11

DR.. B. W. Richardson, at recent
railway temperance meeting in England,
is reported as saying that alcohol ex-
ercised INJURIOUS effects on the sense OF
sight, and that the range at which
set of figures could be read across
room was shortened by three feet after
taking alcohol.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
An Insurance View of Beer-Drinkine

An Insurance View of ofBeer-Drinking
We are surprised to note that some OF
the foreign insurance journals have been
copying the absurd conclusions OF one
J. Thomann, in pamphlet recently pub
lished in New York, to show by statlstl-
cal figures that "beer is the healthiest
drink kaown." That writer declares, as
the result of his investigations, that 'sthe
risks incurred in insuring the lives OF
habitual beer drinkers are less by forty
per cent. than the ordinary risks of such
transactions" Thomann simply proves
what he did not start out TO prove that
the robust men employed in the breweries,
who drink from forty to fifty glasses Of
beer daily, remain in robust health for
some years by virtue of their large
amount of vital force and tenacity; not
! by virtue of beer, but in spite of it. We
have closely watched the heavy beer
drinkers in this community with reference
to their mortality ratio, for more than
twenty years, and our observations show
that out of every hundred who saturate
themselves in this immoderate way, not
more than five pass the age of fifty-three.
Those that escape Bright's disease OF
uramic poisoning become victims OF
cirrhosis, or fatty degeneration, or cry
sipelas, or apoplexy. One or other OF
these fatal diseases invariably gives the
finishing touch to the ''splendid ply
sique" about which Thomann rants long
before the period of natural expectation.
If beer drinkers choose to satisfy their
thirst with their favorite beverage, that
is one thing; but if they are led by Tho
mann's lying statistics into the belief that
beer will prolong their lives, or that life
companies can be fooled into acceptance
of walking beer-barrels as healthy risks,
that is quite another.-Baltl"ors O"ST-
| aerlter,
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
A Little Lower Than the Beasts.

n LlCClc IO~er IMAM tuc ooo6tS1
Try to give a dog whisky to drink and
you will see him shudder with fear and
run away. A rabbit, which was given
whisky, one spoonful every day for tho
sake of experiment, died in a few days
with terrible cramps of the stomschs
Place a good microscope over one drop ol
water and you will see hundreds of ittls
animals living and swimming Justify and
cheerfully in it, but place the same
instrument over drop of whisky and
you will find no life whatever, death
reigning there. Then mix them together
and you will witness the following spec
tacle like this: The poor animslcule.
lively and cheerful though they were but
one moment before, at once begin to
move about most frantically; they are
taken with spasms, with which they suf-
fer a little while, until death relieves
them. Hence you may realize the nature
of whisky and the horror which Nature
herself has instilled into every creature
against it. But what are these in COM
parison with the susceptibility of tho
human body to the ruinous effects of
alcoholic drinks, the traces of which are
often and unmistskably found in the diff
ferent disorders of the stomach and
bowels, the heart, the liver, the kidneys,
the throat and the larynx, the brain, the
skin, the five senses, and the mind itself Z
Who can tell the amount of trouble and
pain and misery caused by only one Of
these afflictionsa How terribly ruined and
deformed by drink is the human body,
the most noble work in the whole of
Gods visible world, that ''temple of the
Holy Ghost, as the great St. Paul has so
grandly styled it'll A short time ago I
saw eight representations of q mans
stomach laid open and affected with those
disorders of which alcohol is so prolific.
They were taken from Nature and so dis
gusting that people who were shown
them could neither eat nor drink on that
day.-Father Loison.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11

A congregation creates the conditions
of failure, and then holds the preacher
responsible. To man or body of meu
with such o temper, how can any good
come from sermons ,-TDr. Deems.